Book-sewing bench



Patented Fbgls, 1894.

vPAJJALJS. A BOOK SE WING BENCH.

, mompdell'j PATENT ENCE.

FRANK ADAMS, OE MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

BooK-SEWING BENCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 514,691, dated February 13,1891. Application led July 5,1893. Serial No 4791550- (No model.)

To @ZZ whom,V it mayconcern:

Be it known that I, FRANK ADAMS, zen of the United States, residing lat Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, State of Wisconsin,'ha've invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Book-Sewing Benches; and'I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification. y l,

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in the construction of book sewing'benches, and my said invention consists in the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1.- is a front elevation of myirnproved book sewing bench showing a number of book signatures upon the same. Fig. 2.-is a broken vertical sectional View of the same, taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3,-is a detail view of one of the parts. Y g

, Referring by letter Vto said drawings, A designates asuitable table or base upon which the signatures are placed, as they are stitched or sewed together to form a book. Adjacent to the forward corners of the table or base are provided vertical standards B B which are arranged to be adj usted vertically within suitable slots or openings in the corners of the table.l .The 4upper ends of these standards are conveniently screwthreaded -as shown at a a for the reception of nuts C C and a transverse bar D is provided at its opposite ends with suitable apertured enlargements d d arrranged to fit over the upper ends of the standards in the manner shown, and to restupon and be supported by the nuts C C in an obvious manner. It follows from this-construction that by a rotation of the nuts C C the elevation of the transverse bar D may be varied as desired.

At a convenient point upon each ofthe verticalpostsB iis,` provided a hinge E the 'posts being separated at this point into two sections and the h'ingepermitting said post to be folded over Vinto the position indicated "iniFig, 2 by the dotted lines. A

Upon the rear faceof each "post, opposite a citi-l Fig. 2, by a Smart pull upon the upper end of the post or the transverse bar D engaged therewith.

Upon one side of each post, is provided a suitable rack bar F arranged to engage with a pinion F which is mounted upon a rotary transversel shaft f, in the manner shown in Fig. 2. two of these pinions being provided for engagement with the two posts andthe shaft upon which they vare mounted being arranged to extendrto the outside of vthe 'tablef or base and terminating insuitable operating handles f f. v

Adjacent to each one of the pinions F is provided a spring ory pawl G, which engages at its free end with the teeth Vof the pinion,

and serves as a ratchet to permit the rotation of said pinion in one direction only, and a Asecond transverse shaftor rod gis arranged to extend beneath the table in contact with the upper faces ofthe two springs G G, said shaft or rod being provided with flattened or `eccentric portions or faces, at the points where it engages with said springs as shown more particularly in Fig. 2. By a rotation of said shaft or rod,g, the springs may be pressed out of engagement with the teeth of said pinions in an obvious manner, so as to free'said pinions and permit their rotation in either direction as maybe desired, and upon the outer end of said shaft or rod,"is provided a suitable handle or knob, g', by means of which said shaft or rod may be readily turned.

Beneath the table A, and conveniently secured to a shaft or rod h, are a suitable number of short straps, provided at their free ends with buckles H H for engagement with the usual straps I I which are arranged'in the backsof books and.A to which the signatures are sewed. y A desired number of short straps J J are secured to the transverse bar D in the manner shown and provided at their lower ends with suitable buckles j j for engagement with the upper end of the straps I I, these straps J J being conveniently formed from elastic webbing so as to give slightly and at the saine time preserve a uniform tension upon the straps I I.

At the front edge of the table is provided a transverse strip K of elastic material, which is arranged to normally bear against the front edge of the table and a suitable adjusting screw k is threaded through said elastic strip K and arranged to bear against the front face of the table so that by an adjustment of the screw the elastic strip K may be sprung outward away from the edge of the table or permitted to bear against the edge of the table as may be desired. In practice when the straps I I are to be placed in position, the adjusting screw 7c is turned so as to spring the elastic strip K away from the edge of the table and said straps are then slipped through the space between said elastic strip and the table and their lower ends engaged with the buckles H H upon the straps beneath the table. The upper ends of said straps I I are then engaged with the buckles jj upon the lower ends of the straps J .I in the manner illustrated in the drawings, when the strip K may be permitted to spring back against the edge of thetable so as to grasp thelower ends of the straps I I in an obvious manner.

In commencing a book, the vertical posts are rst adjusted so that the hinges E Ecome to the level of the top of the table. The first signature of the book is then placed upon the table and stitched to the straps in the ordinary manner, the thread L being passed around each of the straps II and through the signature of the book. The next signature is then placed in position upon the first signature and the vertical posts are adjusted by means of the handlesff in the manner before described so as to elevate the hinges E E to the same level as the line of division between the first and second signatures of the book. Then the operator passes the thread or twine alternately around the straps I I and from signature to signature of the book, so as to not only secure the individual signatures to the straps, but to secure the sections to each other independently of the straps. It is necessary in order that the stitching may be carried from one signature to another that the two signatures be open at their folds for the passage of the thread therethrough, and at the times when it is desired to stitch from one signature to another, the operator by a pull upon the transverse bar D turns the upper sections of the vertical posts into a horizontal position, the straps I I also bending in the same horizontal plane with the hinges E E, so as to permit the two signatures ot the book to be opened out horizontally in an obvious manner. As soon as the thread is passed from one signature to another and itis desired to again pass the thread around one of the straps I the operator throws the transverse bar and the hinged upper sections of the standards or posts back into their normal positions when thethread may be readily passed around the strap in the ordinary manner. In this manner the signatures are placed one upon another and each succeeding signature sewed not only to the straps but to the next preceding signature until the required number of signatures have been secured together, and as rapidly as the signatures are placed upon the series, the standards B B are elevated so as to bring the hinges E E into the same horizontal plane with the line of separation between the uppermost signature and the signature next below it. As the posts are adjusted vertically upward, the nuts C C are turned downward upon the upper ends a a of said posts, so as to preserve the same elevation of the transverse bar D above the up per surface of the table.

In the particular form illustrated in the drawings, I have shown a series of straps or strips of webbing I I at the back of the book which straps are usually applied to the backs of very heavy books such as large ledgers and books of account which are destined to undergo severe usage, but if desired cords or twines may be substituted for the straps for smaller books, in the ordinary manner in which case the method of stitching orsewing the signatures to the twines and to each other will be precisely the same as that hereinbefore described.

In the ordinary methods of book sewing, the straps at the back of the series of signatures are usually tacked or nailed to the under side of sewing bench, and are passed around the transverse bar at their upper ends and stitched together, while by my improvement, all of the labor and time required for thus attaching the straps, is done away with, and it is only necessary to buckle the upper and lower ends of said straps, to the straps on the transverse bar D, and the rod 71beneath the bench.

The straps J J, and the rod h with the straps attached thereto, may be applied to any of the ordinary forms of sewing benches if desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. A book-sewingbench comprising a table vertical standards adjustably supported adjacent to the front edge of the table, a transverse bar extending from the upper ends of said standards, a plurality of connections for vertical straps or cords upon said transverse bar, and means upon the table for engagement with the lower ends of said straps or cords, said standards being composed of up per and lower sections hinged together substantially as shown and described.

2. A book-sewing bench comprising atable, vertically disposed standards, movably snpported adjacent to thefront edge of the table, said standards consisting of upper and lower sections hinged together, spring catches or hooks, for normally holding the sections ofv l vertical standards adjustably supported ad said posts-in line with each other.rneansrfor l vertically adjusting said posts, a transverse bar extending between the upper ends of said posts and vertically adjustable thereon, and means' for engagement of the upper ends of a series of straps or cords with said transverse bar, and of the lower ends of saidstraps or cords, with the underside of the table, substantially as described.

3. A book sewing bench comprising a table,

jacent to the front edge of said table, and consistin g of upper and lower sections hinged together, hooks or catches for normally holding said upper and lower sections in line with each other, means uponthe table for'vertically adjusting said standards, suitable nuts having screw threaded engagement with the upper sections of said standards, a transverse bar arranged to rest upon said nuts, and provided with means for detachable engagement with the upper ends of a series of strapsor cords, a clamp upon the front edge of the table for engagement withthe lower portions of said straps or cords, and a transverse rod or `bar below the forward edge ofsaid table provided with a series oil attaching devices for engagement with the lower ends of said straps or cords, substantially as described.

4. A book sewing bench comprisinga table, vertical standards adjustably supported adjacent to the front edge of said table, and consisting of upper and lower sections hinged together, hooks or catches for normally holding said upper and lower sections in line with each other, rack teeth upon the lower sections of said standards, a transverse shaft provided with an operating handle, and carrying suitable pinions operatively Vengagedvrwith said rack teeth for producing a vertical adjustment of said standards, nuts having screw threaded engagement with the upper sections of said standards, a transverse bar arranged to rest upon said nuts, and provided with means for detachable engagement with the upper ends of a series of straps or cords, and means upon the forward edge ofthe table for engagement with the lower ends of said straps or cords substantiallyy as. described.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

. FRANK ADAMS..

Witnesses:

JOHN E. WILES, CHARLES GRAF. 

